Apparatus for producing tubular fabric



March 25, l fln v A N 2,235,318

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUBULAR FABRIC Filed Dec, 7; 19357 5 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Mareah 25, $941. p GARDNER 2,235,818

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUBULAR FABRIC Filed Dec. '7, 1937 3 Sheets-$heet 2 INVEN TOR. PfRC? @swm m' M@m:1zh 25, 1941. p GARDNER APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUBULAR FABRIG Fil -zd Dec. 7, 19357 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 25, 1941 FAB RIC

Percy Gardner, East Orange, N. J., assignor to Lever Bias Machine Corporation, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 7, 1937, Serial No. 178,466

2 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in apparatus and method for folding material and particularly with reference to the folding and treatment of textile material 5 such as is used in the manufacture of bias binding material where the textile material is folded into tubular form to be later cut into bias strips.

In the past it has been often necessary to fold material for various reasons and in many cases it .has been necessary and desired to join the free edges of the folded material as by pasting them, or by sewing them together to produce a tubular form. With ordinary material not much difficulty is encountered *but with stiff and heavy material it has been found extremely difficult to fold the material in such a way as to permit it to be fed to a pasting, cementing, or sewing .point, at reasonable feed speeds, while main taining the edges of the material in perfect alignment. This was largely due to the fact that no means has heretofore been provided to apply tension to the material along the portion being folded opposite the part being joined to apply to that portion a uniform pressure.

It is therefore an object of this inventionto provide a simple and efficient means whereby stiff material may be folded and the free ends associated in any desired manner and at high speeds of feed while keeping the material with its free edges in perfect alignment. Thus the variation in the width of the tube or the width of the folded material is kept as uniform as possible. This effect is highly desirable in using tur bular fabric for the purpose of producing bias cut material.

Another object is to provide a simple and efficient mechanism whereby stiif material may be folded and wound up in this folded condition with their free edges disposed accurately adjacent each other and in some cases definitely joined together as by pasting, cementing, sewing and the like, and whereby this accurately adjacent disposition of the free edges of the material may be achieved at high speeds so that the normal large output of the machine may be maintained.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the specification hereinafter 50 when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and which illustrate a present preferred form of the invention.

Generally speaking, theinvention involves a series of pressing and folding rollers; a mechanism which either pastes, cements or sews the material together just before it reaches the folding rollers, and in some cases this mechanism merely presses the free edges of the material to gether in accurate alignment as it is fed to the pressing rollers; and a series of guiding members which control the sheet material as it is led up to this mechanism and which includes a set of wing plates or spreader members which are disposed between the layers of the folded material along the curved line of fold just before or at the time it is being sewed etc. along its free edges. This set of spreader plates is for the purpose of maintaining a pressure on the upper and lower runs of the folded material to keep them under this tension whereby it is much easier to dispose their free edges together in accurate edge alignment especially when stiff unwieldy material is being treated. These spreader plates are provided with resilient means to cause them to be pressed against the material to keep them in state of even tension automatically as the material is fed at high speed up to the folding and pressing point.

A preferred present form which the invention may assume is illustrated in the drawings attached hereto in which,

Fig. i is a partial plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2- is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the rear material guide and the spreader plates;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the spreader plate device;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the spreader plates partly in section;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the spreader plates; and, a

Fig. 7 is a rear elevation, broken away, of the spreader plates.

Referring to the drawings, in which a present preferred form of the invention is illustrated, it will be seen that the material Kl, shown in dot and dash lines, is led from any suitable source such as a roll (not shown) and above a laterally extending bar H, which is adjustably fastened in any desired vertical position on a vertical pedestal member l2 mounted on a base plate It resting on the plant floor. The material is manually led forward in loosely folded condition over the bar II and with its upper and lower runs respectively above and below a longitudinal bar 14 which extends laterally in between the folds of the material and then longitudinally along the material adjacent its folded edge as seen in Fig. 1. This bar l4 supports and is connected to an open guide frame l6 disposed near the sewing table or platform l5 and from this plate I6 extends a small rod l1 fastened at its outer end adjustably to a, bracket l8 fastened to the sewing table IS. A further guide bar or rod I 9 extends in a triangular form over the sewing table from the guide plate [6. An extension 20 of the longitudinal bar l4 supports a set of the above mentioned spreader or tension plates, an upper one 2! and a lower one 22 which are pivoted on the shaft or rod 20 and adapted to bear against and tension the upper and lower runs of the material it! along and adjacent the portion which is being folded in a curved manner as shown in the drawings. the rod 20 are connected to the upper curved spreader plate 2| and lugs 24 similarly mounted on the rod 29 are connected to and support the lower spreader plate 22. Pins 25 extend inwardly from the spreader plates 2| and 22 and are surrounded by coiled spring members 26 which at their outer ends bear against the surfaces of a plate 2'! extending between the spreader plates and mounted on the rod 20. These springs tend to constantly push the spreader plates outwardly against the material [0 with a tension and the degree of movement is indicated by the dotted lines shown in Fig. 6.

As the material is then fed forward from this point it will approach the sewing unit 23 with its free edges held by the operator in accurate alignment and with the opposite curved folded portion under a tension no matter if the width or character of the material may vary as the material is fed along. Therefore the operator is able to feed the material to the sewing point with a great deal more accuracy and at the same high speed as before. It is of course to be understood that these spreader plates may be employed in connection with similar goods for the same purpose even if the free edges are not to be sewed but instead of the sewing machine there may be disposed in its place a glueing device, a cementing device, or merely a presser member if the free edges at this point are merely to be fed forward in accurate alignment for being pressed and folded fiat. the spreader plates will still function to enable the material to be fed at high speed and to keep the free edges in accurate alignment even tho the material may vary from point to point in width and character because of the constant tensioning influence of the spreader plates.

After the material passes the treating point where it is either pressed fiat, glued, pasted, cemented, or sewed, it then passes under and Lugs 23 mounted on In any such case around a pressing roller or drum 30 and then under small rollers 3i and 32 pressing down on top of the drum 30. It then passes upwardly between rollers 33 and 34 and then drops by gravity loosely in natural folds into any suitable container such as a box or casing, 35. The rollers 3| and 32 rest upon the roller 30 and the roller 33 rests upon the roller 34. The rollers 30 and 34 are connected by a suitable belt such a 36 whereby the roller 34 may be driven from the roller 30. The roller 30 in turn may be driven by suitable power not shown connected to the same power that drives the sewing machine unit 28 or independent of it.

Therefore it is apparent that I have provided simple and efiicient means whereby textile material or other material which is to be folded with free edge-accuracy may be so folded Without any diminution of the normal speed of operation. This result is achieved by the employment of tensioning means in the particular form of spreader plates which are automatically engaged with both runs of the material to keep them under a substantially even tension as the free edges are fed forward by the operator.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred form thereof, it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What I claim, is:

1. A device for folding material which comprises means for sewing the free edges together, and a set of pivoted spreader plates disposed between the upper and lower runs of the material substantially opposite the edges being sewed, and means engaging the spreader plates to press them automatically against the runs of the material with regulated pressure to maintain in the material a substantial tension.

2. A device for folding material which comprises means for sewing the free edges together, a set of pivoted spreader plates disposed between the upper and lower runs of the material substantially opposite the edges being sewed, springs connected to the spreader plates to press them outwardly against the runs of the material whereby a tension is maintained in the folded portion of the material while the free edges are being sewed.

PERCY GARDNER. 

